You'll Never Guess What Men Are ACTUALLY Doing at Bars

So THIS is what “grabbing a beer” is code for

When dudes head off to the bar, yes, they're probably throwing back pints and swearing about football games. But get this: They may also be opening up to their guys, according to a study out of Scotland.

Researchers conducted focus groups and then analyzed data from the ones in which 22 men who were "regular" drinkers participated. The researchers' goal was to examine the social context of drinking in middle-aged men because, they wrote, men are more likely to drink heavily and more likely to die from alcohol-related causes than women (plus, most research focuses on young drinkers).

"Our study found that men in midlife constructed the shared consumption of alcohol as an integral part of creating and maintaining male friendships," the authors wrote in the study. "Drinking with friends was constructed—and indeed justified—as helping men talk to each other, providing social support, and improving mood."